Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/823

* LANDSMAN. 745 LAND TRANSFER. enlisted as a landsman. The pay is $16 per month. LANDSTAD, liin'stad, Magnu.s Bbosteuf (1802-80). A Norwegian poet and folklorist. He was born near the Xorth Ca|)e. on the island of Maasii; was educated for the ministry, and succeeded his father as minister at Seljord. He retired in 1870, and removed to Christiania. His greatest literary work was his Xorslcc Folkeriser (1853), a collection of alxmt l.'JO popular poems, with music by Lindemann. In this field Land- stad and Faye were practically pioneers. In hymnody also he made himself a name by many hymns of his own, by translations from Luther (18.5.5), and by the' Kirkesalmcbog. which he compiled and of which about fifty are his own work. His last work. Sange oij Dif/le (1879), is larp;cly rural and popular in character. LANDSTURM, liint'stoorm (Ger., land storm, land attack). A part of the military reserve forces of the (ierman Army. See Oermany, in article Armies: L.xdwehb. LAND TAX. Property in land has been .subject to taxation from the earliest days, but a specific land tax implies a peculiar treatment of agricultural land in taxation. In the United States land bears a larjjc share of local taxation, either under the general property tax or under a tax upon real estate. In the general property tax no distinction is made between landed prop- erty and other possessionsi — all iin)])crty is as- sessed according to its vahic, and the taxes paid pro rata. A real-estate tax draws no distinction between agricultural land and city property. In the countries of Continental Europe, on the other hand, a distinction between urban prop- erty (building tax) and rural property (land tax) is general. The difTerence consists largely in the method of assessing the tax. Agricultural land is assessed according to the productive ca- pacity of the land : and this depertds not only on its quantity, but on its character and quality as well. To determine this requires an accurate register of all lands, distinguished as woodland, meadow, arable land, etc. Kach kind of land is further classified according to its quality. This record forms the basis of assessment, while the rate is frequently determined by the amount of money allotted to be raised by the tax. The English land tax was in the first instance assessed upon the value of land, and not on the productive capacity, as on the Continent. The valuation of the land made in 1002, has not been altered, nor has tlie rate changed since 1798, when it was fixed at 4 shillings on the pound. Such a tax ofTends all principles of taxation, and falls very unequally upon different pieces of property. On the other hand, the considerable rise in the value of land since the assessment was made makes the burden comparatively light. Such a tax. since it is a fixed charge upon the lanil. is normally discounted in the purchase price: accordingly it is generally hehl that th<* entire burden «as borne by the one who held the land when the tax was first levied. In the aggregate of national income its product is incon- siderable. In Scotland the term cess is applied to a per- manent land tax fixed at £47,954 per annum, sub- ject to a power of redemption, and payable partly ifroiii the lioroughs and partly from the shires. The apportionment of the tax is determined by the local authorities. See Tax and Taxation; Sl.VGLE T.x. LAND TORTOISE. A tortoise (or turtle) of terrestrial hal)its. All these belong to the extensive family Testudinidae, but do not include all of that family, a large section of which — the terrapins (q.v.) and their allies — are thor- oughly aquatic in their adaptations. The land tortoises proper form a section of the family easily recognized by their feet, in which the toes are short, without webs, and the hinder ones 'dubbed.' while the front of the fore limbs is protected by strong horny scales, or frequently by dermal ossifications. The carapace of the shell is usually heavy and highly arched, and the plastron is firmly united to it at the sides of the body. The top of the strong shell is covered with shields, the tail is short, and the entire structure is calculated for compact and secure defense within the fortress of the shell, since these creatures can neither run away from an enemy nor fight him effectually. Land tortoises flourished in past ages, and a few genera, chiefly Testudo and its recent modifications, have sur- vived in a limited way to modern times. The term is applied in Europe mainly to the 'common' nr Creek tortoise, and in the United States to the similar 'gopher' (q.v.) or to the somewhat dif- A GALAPAGOS GLA.ST TORTOISE. ferent l>ox turtles (genus Cistudo). Most com- monly, however, it refers to the gigantii' terres- trial tortoises of the Mascarene and Galapagos groups of islands, now nearly extinct. See Tor- toise. LAND TRANSFER, Reform in. The an- cient methods of conveyancing by feoffment and livery of seisin, etc., have been superseded by simple deeds, granting and conveying the prop- erty by an accurate description by metes and bounds, and signed and sealed by the grantor. In the United States, the States are divided into counties, the latter into townships, and the latter into sections; and t>efore a conveyance of real estate, it is the practice to have it surveyed and insert in the description in the deed the metes and bounds established by the survey, instead of a general description, as '"My estate of Black- acre." as was formerly customary. Recording or registry acts have been passed in most States, and the record of deeds supersedes the dramatic notoriety of livery of seisin. In many cities the whole area included in the corporate limits is divided into sections, blocks, and lots. Therefore conveyances there recite the numl>er of the sec- tion. blo<'k, and lot. besides containing a descrip- tion by metes and bounds, thereby insuring the